Saturday, August 20, 2011

The Missing Social Media Link: Acknowledging Praise and Content

Two recent studies furnish what seem like contradictory results: One found that 26% of consumers say they have complained about a brand on Twitter while 58% report they've praised; the other study found that 48% of tweets about brands were negative while 16% were positive. It's possible that people's perceptions of their complaint-to-praise ratio are incorrect, or it could be the complainers are very active at complaining. Either way, the message is that organizations must strive to stimulate praise and helpful user-generated content while minimizing reasons for gripes. That should come as no surprise to anyone, which is why it seems odd so few brands acknowledge the praise and help they receive in social media.

Social media professionals focus a great deal of attention on influence, sentiment and the authenticity of peer-to-peer communications, so you would think that acknowledging and rewarding people who praise and support our brands would be among our highest priorities. To the contrary, it seems the opposite is true; in social media, the squeaky wheels get the grease while the cogs that are actively driving brand engagement are ignored.

I've experienced this firsthand. I've praised restaurants, car dealerships, radio stations, auto brands and other service providers and have rarely received an acknowledgment of any sort. In those rare instances when I've been acknowledged, I can trace my subsequent actions back to the relationship-building responses that I received. For example, several months ago, Bohanan's thanked me for checking in, and I've been back six or seven times since. And two years ago, when I tweeted my love of Bay Area jazz station KCSM, the station's response resulted in me taking a tour of its facilities, tweeting more about the station, and donating around $150 over the next year.

While small businesses may struggle with the time and resources for social media, it is a different story for large organizations with considerable social media resources. Even among large brands, there seems to be focus more on complainers than fans. A month ago, I was stranded in a very hot elevator, and after my release I tweeted, "When trapped in an elevator in San Antonio, you definitely want an AT&T phone and not Sprint. No signal on Sprint; AT&T saved me." Given AT&T's reputation issues with service reliability, you'd think a tweet such as this would be welcomed and appreciated, but I heard nothing. It's not that AT&T isn't present in social media--the company responds to dozens of complaints and service requests each day via @ATTCustomerCare--so why turn a deaf ear to compliments?

People who advocate on behalf of your brand or furnish content for your brand deserve acknowledgment. The time has come for smart brands to reward positive, brand-building behavior from anyone who takes the time to share a positive review, a tweet of praise, a recommendation on Facebook or traffic-driving content.

Of course, that word--"reward"--comes with a lot of baggage. If you start furnishing anything of value that creates a material relationship between the brand and the fan, you've crossed a line in terms of FTC endorsement guidelines and authentic marketing practices. That's why the best rewards are also the cheapest and the easiest. Here are three brands that do it right (and yes, I need to disclose that I work for one of these organizations--USAA--or else I'll be breaking those very same FTC regulations):

Tripadvisor lets consumers know they have impact:I've praised Tripadvisor before for the way they close the loop with people who complete reviews. This seems the most basic and easy way to reward people who create content--simply make them aware that their content matters. I received an email from Tripadvisor today that informed me over 1,000 people had viewed my recent reviews. This simple notice let me know the time I spent writing the reviews wasn't wasted and brought Tripadvisor top of mind.

Yelp does something similar, informing reviewers how many compliments and votes as Useful, Funny, and Cool they receive. While some feedback is better than no feedback, I've never understood these random adjectives. "Useful" is certainly valuable, but why do I need to strive for "Cool" or "Funny" in my reviews? Should I be completing my Yelp reviews with an eye towards being helpful and accurate or instead work in vain to have others perceive me as hip and hilarious? Yelp does a good, but not great, job of closing the loop with reviewers.

USAA acknowledges all Facebook comments: I'm very proud of the way the community managers on my team at USAA represent the brand on Facebook. During work hours (and frequently at other times), USAA responds to virtually every Facebook post. We don't simply look for opportunities to offer service to our members when they have problems; we also thank them when they take time to post to their friends their appreciation for USAA's service and products.

You wouldn't think this sort of responsiveness would be that earth shattering, but if you survey brands on Facebook, you'll find that consumers who praise do not get the same level of attention as those who carp. What sort of behaviors are we motivating when we leap to respond to each complaint while ignoring compliments?

If you need a brush-up on how to accept compliments, Lifehack has a good article. In short, when you receive praise, be gracious, be appreciative, and when appropriate, involve the person giving the compliment in your success. And when people furnish content that makes your site or Facebook wall a more interesting place, let them know you appreciate it!

If someone were to compliment you or offer you a gift in person and you ignored it, that would be considered rude. Why is it so hard for brands to recognize, acknowledge and thank people for their compliments and gifts in social media?

I was surprised when griping about an AT&T internet problem, to actually get feedback. I rarely vent about brands on my professional Twitter but was in one of those moods. It's nice they were listening to the negative as they should and yet I agree w/ you Augie that brands should also amplify the positive. Look forward to the 'walk before you fly' post. FWIW.

Great read. I am starting up a small business soon and this will definately be one of my goals. Customer feedback good or bad is critical to a successful business. One additional point to make...If you are a business/company and you choose to respond to not so positive feedback, be tactful! One businesses response I recently saw on Facebook to a valid but rude and poorly written customer complaint ended with "get a life"! Another business owner went on a Facebook rant about how customers didn't appreciate what he was trying to offer and that he should close up shop and go elsewhere. When customers commented about his rant, he proceeded to respond back with curse words and excuses. Blows my mind!

About Experience: The Blog

The world is changing rapidly, both for consumers and brands. Consumers are more empowered than ever before and traditional business models are under attack.

In an increasingly social, mobile and real-time world, brands are created not by the messages they broadcast but by the experiences they offer--ones that create empathy, build trust, earn loyalty, spur Word of Mouth, encourage collaboration, and provide ever greater value to customers in innovative ways. On this blog, we explore how brands are built and business improved via Customer Experience Management, purposeful corporate culture, social and mobile business strategy and collaborative economy models.

You are welcome to participate, criticize, praise, critique, expand, or correct the information and opinions found on this blog. Spam, off-topic, or crude comments will be deleted, but all others are welcome.

About the Author

I am Augie Ray, Research Director covering customer experience at Gartner. I conduct and publish research and advise Fortune 500 clients on the value, process, measurement and tools of customer experience. This includes topics such as Voice of the Customer (VoC), personas, customer journey maps, CX governance, and customer experiences metrics that are leading metrics of brand success.

Previously, I was Director of Global Voice of Customer Strategy for a Fortune 100 financial service company. My background includes more than 20 years of experience in digital, brand, customer experience and social media.

In the past, I led social business at USAA, a firm recognized for its innovative use of communities and social customer care within the financial service industry. I also consulted and published analysis as a Forrester analyst covering digital marketing and social media. In addition, I led a diverse $9 million agency team with specialties in digital development, digital experiential marketing and community strategy.

The future will bring a great deal of innovation that offers opportunities to organizations that are agile and willing to cannibalize their own business models (but it will severely challenge those organizations that cannot.)

The views expressed on this website/blog are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.